In Shallow Waters
by weird-like-luna
Summary: Merlin is alone on a boring afternoon on campus at university. If only Arthur was around...


**In Shallow Waters**

Merlin sighed sadly as the door softly clicked, signalling his lover's departure. He blindly gazed around the small bedroom, and couldn't help realising that it felt so much colder now that Arthur wasn't there to fill a part of the small space. The tiny bed where they had been embracing just short seconds ago creaked as Merlin went to lay down on it, staring at the astrology maps above him. He smiled as he remembered the many times he and Arthur had lay there, pressed against one another, making plans to do some real star gazing in the summer. Arthur would close his eyes as Merlin rambled on in detail about the perfect place, scenery and so on, and Merlin would secretly admire the fan of his lashes, the line of his cheekbones, the curve of a cheeky smile as Merlin went on to plan the 'evening events'.

After wallowing in self pity at his state of sudden loneliness for about half an hour, Merlin forced himself to get up and do some studying. Or attempt to at least. The ridiculously high temperature from the recent heat wave was a huge hindrance. After re-reading the same chapter on the physical properties of semi-conductors (one of his least favourite modules to begin with) about 14 times, and not remembering any of it, he finally decided to give up and find something else to do.

Next on his list of 'things-to-do-in-times-of-utter-boredom-caused-by-lack-of-boyfriend-and-resulting-withdrawal-symptoms-that-needed-to-be-evaded' was to clean his room. Problem? It was already immensely clean. Cleaner than Gwen's hair before a date with Lance (a 3x shampoo job even though Lance was so devoted to her he'd still jump on her if she'd dipped her head in a sewage pipe). After years of practice from cleaning not only his own room, but also Arthur's-because he just couldn't say no to that specific pouting look, or for that matter stand to stay overnight in a room that looked like the remains of a battlefield-Merlin was an expert and therefore could probably clean this whole accommodation block in just over an hour if put to the test. The only dilemma was that this meant less time filled and more time to try and find things to occupy himself on these quieter days on campus.

After yet another wasted half an hour moving things around pointlessly, only to replace them in their previous positions, he finally left his room and started to wander the halls of residence. Arthur should have finished his lecture by now, but Merlin reluctantly remembered that on a Thursday shortly after his sports science lecture, he had fencing class. Merlin would have joined up too if it wasn't for his complete lack of hand-eye co-ordination. He was definitely more at home in the safe confines of the small recording studio, behind a microphone and sharing his love of unknown music with the few people willing to wake up before ten on a Sunday morning.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts about what songs to put on 'You're The Voice' this weekend, that he almost had a panic attack when someone shouted his name from halfway down the stairs, their jovial voice echoing off the concrete walls.

'Merlin!'

Before he knew it, he was being crushed by the muscular arms of his long time friend Gwaine. Although he'd do anything for Arthur and they were what his mother called 'two sides of the same coin'... whatever that meant, it was Gwaine who had picked Merlin up in high school when he was having a hard time fitting in. He was a naturally shy person and didn't exactly fit the stereotypical criteria of the high school guy. Whereas most boys were strong and sporty, Merlin was stuck with his lanky frame and love of reading. However unlike the others who would look down on him for these things, Gwaine was drawn to these differences, and like Merlin he was mature for his age and therefore fed up of the same typical conversations of the average boy in their year. Gwaine had all the qualities to make him popular back then but he chose to stick by Merlin instead, and for this Merlin was hugely grateful. And it turned out that patience was the key, as this maturity later paid off when it came to getting the girls who were looking for more than a one night stand. Gwaine was a real gentleman and therefore popular with the ladies since college. If they hadn't been such close friends, if Gwaine wasn't as straight as a ruler and if Merlin wasn't so head-over-heels in love with Arthur, then Merlin knew that he'd have been acting just as soppy as the many girls with full on dopey eyes. His latest relationship happened to be with Arthur's half sister, Morgana. She was back to her old, kindly self since breaking her friendship with some blonde girl in the year above. She had been a bad influence and had tried to break off all of Morgana's other friendships. Merlin had been so happy at the beginning of term to find that the mysterious blonde girl had left university. Judging by her rebellious character he didn't suppose she would have passed her degree anyway. Now Morgana had all her previous friends back, and on top of that Gwaine and her were a happy pair. Merlin was pleased for them, they deserved each other.

'Gwaine! Oh my goodness you do not know how happy I am to see you!'

'Same, I have had such a rough day man. I meant to meet Morgana, but then I missed the bus into town. I go to call her on my mobile but it runs out of battery just as I start typing in the number! Can you believe that? Then I find I've misplaced my key so I can't get a fresh t-shirt for fencing, which I could really do with after this heat. But hey people have had worse days I guess!' Gwaine shrugged his shoulders.

This was another thing that Merlin loved about Gwaine. No matter how bad things got he would always try to look on the brighter side of things. He'd helped Merlin many times to see the silver lining of a bad situation. He pulled his own key from his jeans pocket, tugged Gwaine's arm from his side and pressed it into his hand.

'Go and borrow one of my old t-shirts, the ones that actually fit you, you know where they are' he said with a smile.

'Aww thanks so much Emrys, I owe you one!' he grinned, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

'No you don't, and you know it!' Merlin grinned back. 'Hurry then or it'll end before you get there! Arthur won't forgive you for ages if you leave him with that Valiant guy.'

'Too true, never a fair match with that snake. See ya then-oh! I almost forgot!' Out of his own pocket Gwaine pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper. He vainly attempted to straighten it out before handing it to Merlin whose face crinkled in curiosity. 'Better run, see you for coffee tomorrow morning?'

'Yep, the usual time? I'll be there if you're running late'

'Ah, you know me too well!' Gwaine laughed, winking before jogging up the remaining stairs. He waved back at Merlin before turning the corner. Once he was alone Merlin unfolded the note. He recognised the familiar scruffy yet oddly stylish handwriting immediately.

Meet me at 7. By the fountain. Love Arthur xx

Checking his watch Merlin's eyes widened as he saw it was already ten to seven. Then he frowned as he remembered that Arthur was meant to be at fencing until half seven. But he wasn't exactly going to argue with a chance to see his boyfriend again, especially on such an uneventful day. He ran down the steps, jumping the last few and almost stumbling as he landed.

When he finally got to the other side of the campus he figured out that it must be about ten past seven, although he couldn't be sure because as usual he'd left his watch in his room. He was late. The sun had almost disappeared below the horizon but the air was still warm, and there was a dull orange glow tinting the sky. This area was quiet and devoid of all students except one. Merlin recognised the strongly built figure instantly, toned and slightly brown (as unlike Merlin he tanned in this weather rather than burned-no-one else he knew had to carry an umbrella in the sun). A messy mop of golden hair shined as it reflected the remaining light from the sun, and as the figure turned its head, a pair of vivid blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight.

Merlin was momentarily awestruck by the handsomeness that was his Arthur. His boyfriend. _Could I be any luckier? _He thought, before shaking himself mentally and grinning his classic loved-up grin. Arthur grinned back and casually pushed himself off the stone fountain that he'd been leaning against. Merlin walked over to him, smile intact, and stood before him expectantly.

'You're late. You're never late' Arthur looked at him quizzically.

'I think you already know it was Gwaine who made me late, he's the tardy one' Merlin replied, knowing not to take Arthur's stern tone seriously. Arthur raised his eyebrows, lips somewhat pursed. Merlin raised his eyebrows back in anticipation, before Arthur broke his composure and his eyes crinkled with a warm smile. He pulled Merlin to him by the shoulders and gave him an affectionate hug. As he pulled away there was such an adoring look in his blue eyes that what was left of Merlin's already melting heart turned into a puddle.

'What happened to Fencing?'

'I figured there were more interesting things to do on a Thursday evening' Arthur smirked. 'Besides, I don't want to work up more of a sweat when I've just gotten over the heat of today'

'You do realise you've left Gwaine alone. He purposely went for you'

'How? I have his key! I'm not that cruel, I just thought that surely he wouldn't want to fight in the same sweaty shirt he's been wearing all day?'

'I lent him mine'

'You're an idiot'

'Prat'

'**My **idiot' Arthur repeated, but with a gentle tone of voice this time. He tilted his head, slowly parting his lips before pressing them to Merlin's own. Merlin moaned softly and clutched at the neck of Arthur's t-shirt, dragging him closer until their bodies were pressed together, whilst Arthur's hand pushed at the small of his back in an attempt to get further access to Merlin's mouth. Their tongues entwined and they were breathing each other's warm breath, desperate for more proximity that wasn't available.

They were kissing so passionately that they were too late to notice that they were edging closer to the wall of the fountain, and before they knew it they were tumbling into the water as one. SPLASH! They were still holding tightly to each other as they hit the water, breaking the smooth, glass like surface. They spluttered as they helped each other to stand up, shocked by the impact but relieved to find that the water was still warm from the heat of the day. Merlin was the first to laugh, shaking the water out of his hair. Arthur began to chuckle with him. They stood there for a while simply laughing at their situation, standing in the shallow water with the fountain spurting a new sprinkling of it over them. Arthur cupped his hands and threw the handful of water into Merlin's face. Merlin gasped and gave a short giggle of disbelief, then bent down to flick a spray of water over Arthur. A pointless action seeing as they were both already soaked, but Merlin got a sense of satisfaction from the comeback. Suddenly though, Merlin was being playfully shoved in the chest and found himself once again falling backwards. He stretched out his arm and made contact with the hem of Arthur's t-shirt, tugging him down with him, and they landed in a tangle of limbs, once again giigling together hysterically. Merlin eventually stopped laughing, and reached out his hand to move Arthur's sopping fringe out of his eyes with his fingertips, which he then traced down those cheekbones that he loved so much. All laughter ended then as they stared into each other's eyes.

'I love you so much you know' Arthur whispered

'shhh' Merlin hushed, a finger to Arthur's damp lips. He got onto his forearms and leaned in for another, wetter kiss. Arthur responded without hesitation. Darkness now filled the sky, wrapped around the two boys like a blanket, shielding them from the world around them as they kissed under the stars. A perfect night for star gazing.

Arthur was right. There were definitely more interesting things than fencing to be doing on a Thursday evening.


End file.
